The Death of Field Marshal Von Schwerin 1757 (1 Viewer)

[Obee]

Here is my latest project :

The Death of Field Marshal Von Schwerin at The Battle of Prague, 6th May 1757

Using the casting by Tradition of London, which was based on the plate in Illustration for Der alte Fritz in fünfzig Bildern für Jung und Alt (Paul Kittel, c 1910). Illustrations by Carl Röchling and Richard Knötel,
I will be completing this vignette over the coming month as posting images of the completed set here.

I have wanted to get these figures for many years, but always put it off in favour of others from that company, but recently when I needed to purchase some figures for a customer who wanted my painting skill, I decided to add theses to my order.



As can see I finished the Field Marshal and now the 5 musketeers are awaiting their 'lick of paint'.



Just the Marshal, but note that the flag isn't as upright as in the plate, but matches the assembled kit on the Tradition website, in this way it should defy gravity and not bend.

More to follow when the 5 musketeers have been completed.

John

 

[The Military Workshop]

Leading from the front, on a horse, and carrying a flag. Pretty much guaranteed not going to end well in those days. If he was the overall commander probably not the best idea although have to admire his bravery.

Looks like an interesting project John. Looking forward to seeing the progress.

 

[farmertony]

Well done John.Looking forward to the finished product.

 

[theBaron]

Leading from the front, on a horse, and carrying a flag. Pretty much guaranteed not going to end well in those days. If he was the overall commander probably not the best idea although have to admire his bravery.

It was expected of Prussian officers to lead from the front, from company officers right up to commanders of formations. Frederick himself was often in the forefront of a battle. There were occasions when his soldiers had to ask him to get out of the way, so they could fire.

In the case of Schwerin, he was leading an advance, and noticed his old regiment wavering, in another part of the line. He rode over and seized the color (actually, a Kompagniefahne, not the Leibfahne, as is the much more common depiction), yelled, "Forward, my children!" ("Heran, meine Kinder!"), and was felled by a salvo of canister. He was killed immediately, let the flag go to one side and fell to the other. His regiment, already in trouble in the hail of shot, broke at the sight.

I'm like you, John. This is one Tradition set that I have always had on my wish list, but I haven't dropped the hammer yet. I will follow this with interest!

Prost!
Brad

 

[Obee]

He rode over and seized the color (actually, a Kompagniefahne, not the Leibfahne, as is the much more common depiction
Prost!
Brad

Brad, would you like me to repaint the flag?



John

 

[theBaron]

Brad, would you like me to repaint the flag?



John

Hi, John, no, not at all. I didn't mean it as a correction to you. I first read that detail in Duffy's book. Röchling depicts it as the Leibfahne, and his illustration is the best-known or most widely printed, whereas Menzel showed it as the company flag. But in a way, it's akin to how artists in the intervening years depicted the colors of the mounts. For example, in the latter half of the 19th century, historical painters depicted Seydlitz on grays, but contemporary artists showed him accurately, on a black horse. The gray mount made for a more dramatic painting, I suppose.

Prost!
Brad

 

[BHogan]

Excellent work! Thanks for sharing it with us. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product. Any plans to make a little diorama with the figures once they are painted?
Cheers,
Brendan

 

[theBaron]

I just noticed something else--Knötel depicts a Korporal in his illustration, but Tradition doesn't include one in the set. He's the figure in the illustration, almost directly behind Schwerin, with the black-and-white pompoms on his hat and gripping his Kurzgewehr, or half-pike, in his left hand. I never noticed that before, when I looked at this in Tradition's catalog. It's a shame they didn't. But it'd be easy enough to add him through conversion of another figure from the catalog.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Obee]

Excellent work! Thanks for sharing it with us. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product. Any plans to make a little diorama with the figures once they are painted?
Cheers,
Brendan

Yes,

I'll pose them in a diorama when completed, so keep a lookout

John

 

[Obee]

I just noticed something else--Knötel depicts a Korporal in his illustration, but Tradition doesn't include one in the set. He's the figure in the illustration, almost directly behind Schwerin, with the black-and-white pompoms on his hat and gripping his Kurzgewehr, or half-pike, in his left hand. I never noticed that before, when I looked at this in Tradition's catalog. It's a shame they didn't. But it'd be easy enough to add him through conversion of another figure from the catalog.

Prost!
Brad

Yes Brad, I also noticed the NCO reaching for the flag and he would be a good addition to the set.

Also notice the musketeer on the left, his right hand is also reaching for the flag, while the Tradition figure is reaching with his left.

The painting also shows a following musketeer with his musket held upright, not forward, so another possibility.

I'll see what other makers of soldiers from this period have available, but I need to get the scale right because these are slightly larger than 54mm, but not 60mm.

John

 

[Obee]

I've found a couple a figures on the Berlin Zinnfiguren site :

Miniwelt kits, 24th Regt

NCO

Musketeer

Now tho check on the size, but I do have a couple of kits here at home, but drummers I think, so I'll let you know what I think later today.

John

 

[theBaron]

Miniwelt kits are bigger than Tradition figures. They're around 60mm to 65mm. If you want to add a corporal, you might find another figure in the Tradition catalog that will work, as a basis for conversion.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Obee]

Miniwelt kits are bigger than Tradition figures. They're around 60mm to 65mm. If you want to add a corporal, you might find another figure in the Tradition catalog that will work, as a basis for conversion.

Prost!
Brad

Yes, my thoughts too Brad after looking at the Miniwelt kits (Napoleonic) I have here at home.

This 12th Regt Grenadier NCO would fit, but only if he's decapitated and given a new musketeer's head.

What do you think ???

I could take the head off another wounded figure, and replace that with a bare head, I have spares of that sort, and then he looks like his hat has fallen off ???

John

 

[theBaron]

I agree, John, that one would work. You could even use a Prins August head, I think, if you got a nice, crisp casting.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Obee]

I agree, John, that one would work. You could even use a Prins August head, I think, if you got a nice, crisp casting.

Prost!
Brad

I check on that but the Price August heads are a bit small.

They are 54mm, while Tradition Model figures seem bigger, somewhere in between 54 and 60 mm??

I'll place an order in the New Year, after the global parcel post backlog and get a few other model range figures I am also wanting because it will be about a month before I finish these and other figures that are all awaiting their 'lick of paint'

John

 

[Obee]

Today I have completed one of the musketeers from the 24th Regiment, the wounded soldier.



Here is a front on view showing the details of the lace and pompoms on his hat.


Compare that with the image supplied with the kit:

It stated that the pompoms should be white and the lace white with no mention of lace right around the lapels and cuffs nor on the lower sleeves.
I'm glad that I have a good resources to show me what's right

Now on with another 4 figures ...

John

 

[Obee]

The last figure for this week ....



Musketeer reaching to catch the falling flag.

and the image from Tradition, showing that I have applied more detailed painting to represent the 24th Regt.

Now here are the 3 completed figures, with 3 more advancing musketeers to go:



John

 

[Obee]

I've a relaxing weekend back home after a week away for Christmas with our family and this is the result:

FINISHED



And from an Austrian viewpoint !!!



Hope you like the completed diorama, but I an now planning on a couple of additional figures, the NCO reaching for the flag and another wounded musketeer, so watch this space

John

 

[Obee]

I agree, John, that one would work. You could even use a Prins August head, I think, if you got a nice, crisp casting.

Prost!
Brad

Brad,

thanks for the feedback on the NCO, and now he's finished and can be displayed trying to catch the flag.



As you see he's reaching with the opposite hand from the painting, but he is on the right hand side of the Field Marshal, and looks the part too !!

I bought 2 figures from Tradition

T54 506 N.C.O. 12th Infantry Regiment

T54 397 Musketeer Private 2nd Infantry Regiment

Then decapitated both, before swapping heads. The Grenadier is now marching, and remains in the 2nd Regiment, but the NCO has gone from being a grenadier in the 12th, to a musketeer in the 24th.
The NCO needed to have his collar removed from his coat and some buttons filled on his lapels, but that's all, so a relatively easy conversion, as you can see below.



Now this group is really finished!!

John

 

[BHogan]

Excellent work John. Thanks for sharing your completed project with us.

Cheers,

Brendan